Town of Chatham, MA - Selectmen's Meeting Minutes 11/13/07

Mrs. Bohman moved the Board of Selectmen vote to approve the minutes of the November 6, 2007 Board of Selectmen’s meeting. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Vice Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals Peter Action attended this meeting. Mr. Acton told the Board of Selectmen the ZBA has held ninety-four hearings to date in 2007. He elaborated on the disposition of those hearings and told the Board FY08 revenues for the ZBA to date is $18,000.

Board members commended the work the Zoning Board of Appeals has been doing. Mr. Whitcomb asked about the apprehension people have about being televised. Mr. Acton said they have had requests from people about being able to sit at the meetings to improve their comfort levels but the technical studio said it may be too difficult to accommodate them.

Don Aikman, Chairman of the Chatham Historical Commission addressed the Board of Selectmen. Mr. Aikman said one important change in the Commission’s work was the support by Town meeting to extend the demolition delay bylaw to eighteen months.

Commission members have divided the workload with assignments given to each member. The Commission works with the Historic Business District Commission, the Historical Society, and the Cultural Council in the program to provide preservation awards. Six buildings were added to the list of structures that have been awarded the Preservation Plaques. The total number of awards given to date is sixteen.

The Commission is still working with the Harbormaster, the U.S. Wildlife Service and Fred Mosser, one of the owners, to preserve the U.S. Coast Guard boat house on Stage Island. Mr. Aikman thanked Mr. Mosser and his associates for their interest and their patience.

The Commission thanked Sarah Korjeff and the Cape Cod Commission for their continued support. There are currently three homes subject to demolition delay and one application to be heard. The Commission continues to work with homeowners to preserve this historic properties of these buildings.

He said the camps that were destroyed are now being cleaned up, as is the debris on the mainland. He said the end of North Beach will continue to experience recession of the shoreline. The Corps of Engineers, in partnership with the Town, will be studying the effects of the new break.

Mr. Bergstrom asked if the wave action on the mainland is getting stronger since the break. Mr. Keon said there has not been much change though there has been minor erosion at some of the landings.

Mr. Summers asked about the new south island and the storm’s effects. Mr. Keon said there is not much data about the land that has been cut off, but there is some recession on the ocean side. Mr. Keon noted the island is existing on its own sediments and eventually will start to shift. Mr. Whitcomb asked about long term effects. Mr. Keon said as the break grows, there may be more damage to the mainland as well as shoaling which will effect navigation and may impact the Fish Pier and the east fleet.

Mr. Whitcomb noted Park and Recreation Director Dan Tobin, Plover Monitor Kelly Hebert, Chairman of the Park and Recreation Commission Gary Anderson, Lieutenant John Cauble, Police Chief Mark Pawlina, Coastal Resources Director Ted Keon and Chairman of the North Beach Advisory Committee William Hammatt as well as other members of the Park and Recreation Commission were in attendance to participate in a discussion prior to meeting with the Orleans Board of Selectmen on November 14, 2007.

Mr. Whitcomb noted John Kelly, Orlean’s Town Administrator, had forwarded an agenda for the discussion on November 14. Mr. Whitcomb said he would like to refer to that agenda to organize this discussion.

Chief Pawlina said his department has a good working relationship with Orleans and the escort service for camp owners went very smoothly this summer. He noted the environment has become better for wildlife because of the break and it is anticipated there will be more nesting next season.

Mr. Summers asked why the end of the beach was closed this summer. Chief Pawlina explained that the middle road has been washed out and traffic needs to stop at road seven in order to be able to manipulate a turn-around without traveling on private property.

Chief Pawlina said he feels the Town’s two monitors will be adequate for next season. The new island has not been a problem for the birds because of the lack of vehicles however, there has been an increase in boats traveling to the island to go to the beach. Mr. Prescott, from the Audubon Society has offered their services as well if we need extra monitoring of the plovers. Chief Pawlina commended Kelly Hebert for her monitoring efforts this past season.

Ms. Connors noted the projections for receipts are difficult to analyze because the birds and further erosion are unknown factors. The Board of Selectmen reviewed the receipts to date and projected receipts for 2008. There was discussion that reveals Chatham provides emergencies services for the Beach and the Board of Selectmen wants to consider our costs in relation to our revenue. It may be the Town needs to re-examine the services we provide if the revenues are not there to support the costs. Most of the non-resident self contained vehicles end up on Chatham’s beach. Mr. Bergstrom felt the Town should consider letting Orleans have the revenues and stop all traffic at the Town line to save money on services. Mr. Hammatt explained the self contained vehicles want to go to the end of the beach for more privacy and better fishing. He suggested a second sticker system to increase revenues and allow vehicles to pass through Orleans into Chatham.

Mr. Hinchey said our revenues are fairly close to covering our costs. Orleans is facing revenue shortfalls. If the revenues were to go to 100% Orleans and 0% Chatham the Town would have to consider what benefit the citizens are getting for the expenses paid.

Mr. Anderson reminded everyone that they did meet with Orleans about dogs on the beach and the compromise was that a leash would be required at the high water mark. If the Town of Orleans pursues a Section 10 permit it may require the ban of dogs on the beach. Mr. Summers said the more restrictions we place on the beach the more loss of revenue will be realized because people feel they are not getting their monies worth when the beach is closed because of plover nesting.

Mr. Whitcomb asked the Board if they would be willing to share the cost of the Section 10 application with Orleans. Mr. Summers said he had reservations because we only have 1.6 miles of land left and there may be no benefit to the citizens who want to avail themselves of a beach sticker. Mrs. Bohman said she feels the two boards have to renegotiate the agreement given that circumstances have changed on the beach.

Ms. Hebert told the gallery a Section 10 permit is kind of a give and take agreement. It will make the beach more restrictive and dogs are not allowed on the beach under the Section 10 Permit. Chief Pawlina told the Board of Selectmen the Section 10 permit requires a pro active program for predator control, which can become controversial and is also very expensive. Mr. Hammatt noted the Section 10 Permits are very specific areas and the Board of Selectmen needs to know what areas are being proposed.

Park and Recreation Commissioners Gary Anderson, Michael Brady, Meredith Fry, Joyce Reynolds and Michael Seidewand attended this meeting. Park and Recreation Director Dan Tobin also attended.

Mr. Anderson read a very extensive list of properties and programs that the Commission is working on, including beaches, parks, ponds, the new Community Center and other projects. Mr. Anderson said there have been some delays in getting all the work accomplished because the staff is overworked. Delays are sometimes necessary to get things done right, he said.

He said, since the Lighthouse has become such a popular beach, parking and revenue will need to be addressed. He thanked the Harbormaster and staff for all their work at the beach. Mr. Anderson said one thing they are discussing is having only cars with Chatham beach stickers park on Bridge Street and assigning twenty-five spaces at the Lighthouse for vehicles with Town beach stickers.

The Commission will be discussing sources of revenue. The increasing workload of the department will come with increased costs, Mr. Anderson noted. The Commissioners will be initiating a six month moratorium on new projects to focus on the work at hand.

Mr. Summers said he had gotten calls complaining about the new Center. Mr. Anderson said the problems are being worked on. He said he understands there is some frustration, but the staff has time constraints and sometimes people express different philosophies that they want to see adopted.

Mr. Hinchey said a huge amount of transition has been going on and the staff has made great progress in opening the center and beginning new programs. Mr. Hinchey suggested that communication is the key to resolving problems or perceived problems. He cautioned that frustration or complaints that are not communicated in a constructive way may get “pocketed” and then, at a later time, are revealed as criticism.

There was discussion on the use of the gym. Mr. Anderson said historically November is always the most difficult to schedule time in the gym because of the way the children’s extracurricular activities are rotated.

The Skate Board Park still has challenges regarding supervision. The Commission will look at options for gating the Park or actions that may be taken. Mr. Bergstrom noted there is parental responsibility for making sure the children are using helmets and behaving in a safe way.

Mr. Seidewand said his frustration comes from delays in deadlines that were given to the employees and feels there should be evaluations for the employees to ensure follow through and provide for accountability. Ms. Connors concurred saying that it has been a very busy time and the staff has accomplished a lot but she feels annual reviews are important.

Mr. Hinchey said there is a saturation point for staff schedules and the use of the building. The Town will have to set priorities and also consider that more programs and more supervision of the Parks and Center will require more funding. The staff will continue to work at improving service.

Mr. Bergstrom suggested we may be trying to do more than can be accomplished without added staff and funding. He said it may be that, with the demands on the staff, and desired use of the building some expectations may be unrealistic. Mr. Brady thought that some improvements could be made through efficiencies. He felt more accountability would lead to improvements in effciency.

Mr. Whitcomb likened the situation to an embarrassment of riches since without all the great programs and facilities we wouldn’t be having these problems, so we should welcome the challenges and continue to make improvements.

Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen vote to grant the transfer of the All Alcohol Package Store License at 534 Main Street from Churchmice, Inc. to Epicure Ventures, LLC, Harold F. Salsberry. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen vote to allow the extension of the seasonal alcohol licenses to Pate’s Restaurant, Vining’s Bistro, Meservey’s Family Restaurant, Queen Anne Inn and the Red Nun. Mr. Bergstrom seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Mr. Meservey explained the restaurant had been booked for one Christmas party and he wanted to honor his commitment but did not think it was practical to remain open his first year of business.

Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen vote to allow Meservey’s a closure from December 1 to January 15 except for December 8^th. Mrs. Bohman seconded the motion and the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Ms. Connors moved the Board of Selectmen vote to go into Executive Session for purposes of discussing Land Acquisition. Mr. Whitcomb polled the Board members and all voted to go into executive session.